Let me throw another item into the fire. A Sport Pilot cannot fly at night. I presently hold a Commercial license with SEL, MEL, Instrument and for the past year or so have been enjoying flying as a Sport Pilot in our C model Ercoupe. Been flying for almost 60 years, over 5,000 hours and now just enjoying a nice day or evening "smashing bugs".
I called AOPA and EAA to get an official reading of "Night" and found it is later than official Sunset. In my area near Washington, DC I Googled the times for sunset and twilight and found that I have an average of 27 miutes more to fly after official Sunset. Of course you must have all the required lights, etc. On an overcast evening it is " dark" 27 minutes after Sunset. Jim Truxel N3439H KFDK ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Roach" <[email protected]> To: "e-tech" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 8:51 PM Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] Sport pilot > Nick and John, > I think I would answer the question a little differently. Although > John's answer is almost correct. > > First, are you a Sport Pilot or a Private Pilot exercising Sport Pilot > privileges? A Private Pilot is a Private Pilot and not a Sport Pilot > (unless for some unknown reason he/she wants to surrender the Private > License and then train and pass the Sport Pilot regulations.) Next, if > you are carrying a passenger, you should meet the requirements of three > takeoffs and landings to a full stop within the past 90 days. If you are > a Sport Pilot, you should carry your state drivers license and your > logbook which will document meeting this requirement as well as your > Sport Pilot certification. The rules are a little vague in this area > about a Private Pilot exercising Sport Pilot privileges. I usually carry > my Private Pilot License, my drivers license and my logbook; but, I am > not sure I would show the logbook and I certainly would not surrender it > if asked to do so. > The aircraft must meet the requirements of a Sport Pilot aircraft as > spelled out by the FAA. For Ercoupes, the Model C and CD meet these > requirements as long as they have not been flown at weights exceeding > 1320 lbs. This is a certification issue which is currently being > examined by the FAA as to how this is properly determined. It is hoped > that they will soon issue guidance on what they really mean. For now, > the trend seems to be that the aircraft has never been registered at a > gross weight exceeding 1320 lbs. Keep in mind that an airworthiness > certificate is a required document in the aircraft. > I don't believe that a Sport Pilot eligible Ercoupe can be a Certified > Light Sport Airplane. Were that true, the owner's signature could return > the aircraft to service for a wide variety of reasons. Ercoupes are > certified aircraft and owners can only sign for a limited number of > specific preventive maintenance items spelled out in the FARs for all > certified light aircraft. While you don't have to carry the aircraft > logbooks, you could be asked to present them. They should show proper > documentation of maintenance and installed equipment. Additionally, you > should carry weight and balance information and an equipment list for > the aircraft. As far as I know, there is no official operating handbook > for either the C or the CD models. However, it might be a good idea to > prepare a set of checklists specific to your aircraft appropriate to > before, during, and after each flight. > . > Sorry if this seems too picky -- but the rules are the rules no matter > what you think of them. > > John Roach > N 2427H > > John Craparo wrote: >> >> >> Nick, >> >> If you are a Private Pilot with a valid State drivers license and you >> have never been denied on your medical, then you are a Sport Pilot as >> long as your driver's license remain valid and you can certify >> yourself as fit to be PIC before each flight. >> >> Your Ercoupe must be a C or CD model and never documented by the FAA >> as any other model, then it can be flown as a Certified Light Sport >> Airplane. >> >> John >> >> >> On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 7:08 PM, nick.king88 <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> >> >> What do I have to do to be " legal " as a sport pilot .and what do >> I have to document with my coupe. >> >> . >> >> > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ercoupe-tech/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ercoupe-tech/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
